The present invention relates generally to the art of vehicle monitoring and alarm systems. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements to a panic button actuator for use in such systems.
Various vehicle tracking systems have been developed to provide tracking of motor vehicles. One such system, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,285 ("the '285 patent"), incorporated herein by reference, advantageously provides a dual state vehicle alarm system which may serve as a defensive measure to car jacking and auto theft related crimes. The system described in the '285 patent contains at least one panic button actuator to trigger the alarm system into either a first silent state or a second conspicuous state. In the first silent state, selected status information is transmitted to a remote monitoring site without alarm indicator means being conspicuously activated. In the second conspicuous state, the alarm indicator means are conspicuously activated.
The panic button actuator may be implemented as a portable device, such as a key chain ornament, carried by a user. It is especially desirable that the portable device have excellent immunity to normal kinds of RFI interference and operate with a reasonable range.